A teacher from Aberdeen Secondary School was among those tragically killed over the holiday period. Amanda Thandokhazi Tebeka was on her way to visit family in Cape Town, accompanying her brother's two children. The taxi in which she was travelling was involved in an accident at De Doorns, in the Western Cape, on Thursday 13th December. A bus travelling in the opposite direction, coming from Cape Town to the Eastern Cape, burst the tyre on the right front wheel and the driver lost control of the vehicle, causing it to crash head-on into the taxi. The taxi caught fire, but despite already being burnt Amanda managed to break a window and throw the two children through – they were the only two to survive from the taxi. The children, aged eight and ten, suffered a broken leg and broken arm respectively, but were otherwise unharmed. The driver and one other passenger were also burned to death, and twenty one passengers from the bus were treated for minor injuries.
Tebeka was born and bred in Graaff-Reinet, and qualified as a teacher from the Cape Town University of Technology with a Bachelor of Education just a year ago. Aberdeen Secondary School, where she taught business studies and English, was her first teaching post, and the 26 year old soon settled in. She was widely respected by teachers and pupils alike, always with a smile and very willing to please. Her positive attitude endeared her to all, and she soon crept into everyone's heart in this small community. One of her colleagues remembers an example of Amanda's kind-hearted nature, when she went out of her way to help two matric girls who couldn't afford to attend the Matric Ball.
Her funeral was held in Graaff-Reinet on 22nd December. She will be sorely missed in Aberdeen.
